Absolute dating of three ancient kilns excavated at Canosa di Puglia through archaeomagnetism

Evdokia Tema, Italo Maria Muntoni
Abstract:
Absolute dating techniques can offer important information about the chronological framework of archaeological findings mainly in the case of rescue excavations where the time and the resources for extended archaeological investigations are not available. In this study we present the dating results of three ancient kilns excavated near Canosa di Puglia, discovered during the construction of a new road. Archaeomagnetic investigation was carried out on 24 oriented in situ samples that allowed the determination of the direction of the Earth s magnetic field at the time of the kilns last firing. The obtained results show stable remanent magnetization and well-defined mean archaeomagnetic directions. Comparison of the results with the geomagnetic reference Secular Variation curves available for Italy show that the two kilns were abandoned contemporaneously and no later than the first half of the VI century AD while the third kiln could have still been in use till the VII century AD. Such results are in good agreement with the available archaeological evidence and show that most probably there was an important workshop in the area used for at least a couple of centuries.
Download:
IMEKO-MetroArchaeo-2023-081.pdf
DOI:
10.21014/tc4-ARC-2023.081
Event details
IMEKO TC:
TC4
Event name:
TC4 MetroArchaeo 2023
Title:

IMEKO TC4 International Conference on Metrology for Archaeology and Cultural Heritage

Place:
Rome, ITALY
Time:
19 October 2023 - 21 October 2023